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Tag: Adopts

Sometimes destiny can throw you a curveball. This is particularly true in the case of Sarah and Andy Justice, a Tulsa, Oklahoma couple desperately longing to be parents. After years of unsuccessful attempts at conception, the Justices decided it was time to consider adoption.

Yet, like their three long years waiting to conceive, the adoption process proved equally frustrating. Still, the couple persevered and was soon given the chance to adopt not just one, not two, but three babies. Once the triplets were born, however, something unbelievable happened…

Sarah and Andy Justice had been married for three years and while they were loving life together, they were missing one, vital thing: children of their own. It wasn’t for lack of trying, mind you, they just hadn’t had any luck conceiving. After three years of waiting, it seemed they would have to look into some sort of help.

Sarah and Andy decided that it was time to seek the advice of a fertility expert. In early 2014, the two traveled from their home in Tulsa, OK to St. Louis, MO to enlist the aid of a fertility specialist. The Justices drove for nearly six hours, but when they got there, they received more bad news…

The specialist told the couple that while they were perfect candidates for in-vitro fertilization treatment, there was still only a 10% chance that they would ever become pregnant. The process was also a bit more invasive than the couple had been prepared for. What’s more, the process wasn’t exactly going to be cheap, either.

As it turns out, in-vitro fertilization costs a pretty penny. The process would cost the Justices between $ 30,000 and $ 60,000. Between the extremely prohibitive cost and the fact that even if they did try it, it might not work, the couple decided that this was not the right path for them. So they went to the next logical step: adoption…

Even adoption had certain difficulties attached to it, however. For one, the process can take years to finalize, and the Justices were, like most people who opt to adopt, interested primarily in newborn babies. Still, they were willing to do whatever they had to in order to get the ball rolling, including a series of interviews.

As part of the adoption process, Sarah and Andy had to be interviewed by prospective birth mothers in order for them to determine if the couple would be suitable as parents. The interviews, while cordial and successful in the end, were exhausting and nervewracking for the Justices. Sadly, their struggle to build their family was far from over…

The Justices had been accepted as adoptive parents on two separate occasions, following the interviews. Yet in both cases, the birth mothers had changed their minds at the last minute. Just when it seemed like everything was going smoothly, they had to start all over again. But they were not about to give up that easily.

Finally, when they were at their lowest, the Justices received a call. One of their expectant mothers had accepted them as parents. They met with her again and even went with her to an ultrasound appointment. Everything appeared perfectly normal during the scan, but there was one little surprise that neither the mother nor the Justices had planned on: the woman was having triplets…

Rather than try and renege on the agreement, the Justices decided to move forward with the adoption and accept all three babies. The papers were signed, after all. Sarah and Andy were about to become the proud parents of three beautiful newborns. It was not something they were initially prepared for…

As a matter of fact, the situation actually suited the couple perfectly. They had already planned on having more than one child but had dreaded the prospect of undergoing adoption process a second time. It seemed that now they had the perfect situation: multiple children all at once. Soon they were ready to meet their newborn triplets…

The babies, Hannah, Joel, and Elizabeth, were born in May 2013. In yet another twist of fate, the triplets were born eight weeks early. The tiny little babies weighed only about three pounds each, which meant that they had to be kept in neonatal intensive care for some time before they could go home with their new parents.

A week after their premature birth, Sarah Justice decided to go to a doctor’s appointment by herself. The stress of the whole situation had been affecting her health slightly and she wanted to make sure she was feeling better by the time the triplets came home. When the doctor finally came in, he had some unbelievable news; she was not sick, she was pregnant. It was a miracle, and what’s more, she was expecting twins…

Fate is a funny thing. While this amazing, and unlikely, occurrence would have felt like bad timing to most people, the Justices saw the humor in it. The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on them either, or the difficulty that would come with raising five children all under a year old. But Sarah and Andy were mentally and emotionally prepared for what was to come.

They were, of course, shocked, even slightly overwhelmed by the news, who wouldn’t be? But they had been longing for a family of their own for so long, they couldn’t help but she the unique situation as a true blessing. Soon they had welcomed their biological twins, Andrew and Abigail, into their home as well. It was going to be a big adjustment…

The situation wasn’t easy, obviously. With five hungry babies, the couple didn’t sleep a whole lot in the first few months. Luckily, Sarah and Andy had the support of their community and their family. Friends, neighbors, members of their parish, everyone pitched in to help and provide for the new family of seven.

Members of Tulsa’s Eastland Baptist Church began to send over food for the family as well. They sent cooked meals, frozen dinners, and baby formula. Their friends at church even offered to help watch the five Justice babies while the couple was away at work. And it wasn’t just food and time their friends provided, either…

Diapers, bottles, blankets, clothing: it all came pouring in from donations around Tulsa. The supplies were sorely needed. The five infants went through a whopping 300 diapers and 84 bottles every week. And because it was such a task getting the kids from place to place, they had to get a bigger van.

Sarah and Andy had a little trouble telling the babies apart at first, despite their slight age difference. To fix this, they came up with a system. The boys were easy enough, for obvious reasons. But for their older daughters, Hannah and Elizabeth, the parents used different colored toenail polish. Soon, the Justices were internet celebrities…

The story of the Justice clan instantly went viral and in the three years that passed since the Justices became parents, they have gained an impressive Facebook following. The world is constantly looking at their fantastic photos and updates. In fact, the couple who thought they’d never be parents, even welcomed a sixth child in January of 2016.

Despite the crazy demands that the Justices’ face each and every day, they say they wouldn’t change it for the world. Their lives have become all about the babies, but they both feel that it’s a good thing. “It was something we’ve wanted so badly that we love it,” says Sarah Justice. “We just really love having these children.”